White House Down

There was definitely something apocalyptic about the 2013 summer movie season, and we’re not just talking about the movies themselves.While major releases, like ‘This Is the End,’ ‘Oblivion,’ ‘Pacific Rim‘ and ‘Elysium,’ dealt with the end of the world, Hollywood appeared to be on the verge of collapse out in the real world. Films that looked like surefire hits flopped; surefire disasters proved to be more disastrous than everyone predicted; the handful of films without numbers in their titles stumbled; and, from the sidelines, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas smirked, shrugged and predicted the end of the moviegoing experience as we know it.So, what exactly happened here? More importantly, what does this mean for the future of studio filmmaking? It’s easy to imagine Hollywood looking at what happened this summer and learning plenty of lessons; but, maybe, not always the right ones.

What happens when two new releases that look like sure-things smash into the unstoppable wall that is a Pixar movie? Well, you get one second place hit and one severe disappointment. 'The Heat' still looks good next to the continued success of 'Monsters University,' but it made 'White House Down' stumbling at the starting line look all the more horrible.

During the War of 1812, British forces burnt the President's mansion to the ground, marking one of the few times in American history that the seat of executive power has been directly assaulted. From its ashes, the White House was built and there it has stood.

Roland Emmerich, the director of such disaster-heavy films as 'Independence Day,' '2012,' 'The Day After Tomorrow' and the last 'Godzilla' movie, set his sights on the White House in 'White House Down.' Starring Channing Tatum as Secret Service hopeful John Cale and Jamie Foxx as US President James Sawyer, this "Die Hard in the White House" film starts like any other day until a team of domestic terrorists infiltrate and bring down the White House.

'White House Down' has the disadvantage of being the second 'Die Hard'-in-the-White-House movie of 2013 after 'Olympus Has Fallen,' and the advantage of being superior to its predecessor in every conceivable way. It's better directed, better written, and better acted. The action is better, with more impressive special effects; the production design is better, with a much more convincing replica of the White House; the camerawork is better; with clear, lucid images. Where 'Olympus Has Fallen' was grim and stern, 'White House Down' actually embraces the silliness of its premise. It's more exciting and more faithful to the 'Die Hard' formula. This is still basically a shameless ripoff popcorn movie, but it's a shameless ripoff popcorn movie popped to near-perfection.

Every so often, two seemingly identical films from different studios and creative teams arrive at the exact same time, prompting mass confusion, hysteria and internet articles obsessively comparing the two of them. 'Olympus Has Fallen' may have been...

If 'White House Down,' the upcoming action movie where Channing Tatum and The President (Jamie Foxx) take down terrorists in the White House, does well at the box office, there's no way they're only making one of them.

Few summer movies look as fun as 'White House Down.' After getting to see eight minutes of footage during a special presentation, hosted by director Roland Emmerich and stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, we see this as a nice change of pace from all the superhero and sci-fi offerings of late. Now the latest clip from the film only makes its charm and sense of humor stand out more from the familiar "Die Hard in the White House!" formula.